ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
Boost to Metro Rail connectivity in Indore
Cabinet approves Indore Metro Rail Project comprising Ring Line 
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the implementation of Indore Metro Rail Project comprising Ring Line of length 31.55 Km from Bengali Square - Vijay Nagar - Bhawarsala - Airport - Patasia - Bengali Square which will connect major public nodes and city cluster areas of Indore.
Details:
- The length of the Ring Line is 31.55 km.
- The Ring Line will be from Bengali Square - Vijay Nagar -Bhawarsala - Airport - Palasia - Bengali Square.
- Numbers of Stations on the Ring Line are 30.
- The project will provide continuous availability of affordable, reliable, safe, secure and seamless transport system in the urban agglomeration of the city, which will reduce the accidents, pollution, travel time, energy consumption, anti-social incidents as well as regulate urban expansion and land use for sustainable development.
- The estimated cost of the project is Rs. Rs.7500.80 crore and the project will be completed in four years.
Benefits:
The population of 30 lakh of Indore will be benefited by the Metro Rail Project directly or indirectly. The corridors will have Multimodal Integration with Railway Station & BRTS Stations and feeder network of Bus, Intermediate Public Transport  and Non Motorised Transport . The Project will have non-fare box revenue form rental& advertisement as well as Value Capture Financing  through mechanism of Transit Oriented Development  and Transfer of Development Rights .
The residential areas along this Metro Rail corridor shall be immensely benefited by this project, as the people of these areas will be able to travel on trains from their own neighborhoods to reach different areas of the city conveniently.
The Ring line will connect densely populated areas of the city with the new developing areas along with Railway Station, Airport and ABD under Smart City project. The Metro will provide ecofriendly and sustainable Public Transport to residents, commuters, office workers, students, visitors and travelers.
Progress:
- A SPV namely Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Co Ltd.  has been constituted for implementation of the Project.
- The financing of Indore Metro Rail Project will be partly from Central Government and State Government of Madhya Pradesh on equal equity basis and partly as loan from Asian Development Bank  and New Development Bank .
- M/s DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH in consortium with M/s Louis Berger SAS and M/s Geodata Engineering S.p.A has been appointed as General Consultant  for Indore Metro Rail Project.
- The tenders for first civil work package have been invited and work will start soon.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
EPFO Informed 4,98,056 Members About Contributions
SMS/E-mail to the members, if contributions are not deposited by their employers with Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation  for a given month within due date, started from 27th June, 2018 for contribution due for wage month May paid in June, 2018. Total SMS/E-mail sent to the members upto 20th July, 2018 are 4,98,056.
Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance  App, where various services of EPFO have been linked also, inter-alia, provides information regarding member’s Provident Fund  balance, claim status, Know Your Customer  status, etc.
This information was given by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Union Minister of State  for Labour and Employment in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Competition Commission of India
CCI approves acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Overseas Limited and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare UK Trading Limited of shareholding in GlaxoSmithKline Asia Private Limited
The Competition Commission of India  approves acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Overseas Limited and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare UK Trading Limited  of shareholding in GlaxoSmithKline Asia Private Limited  under Section 31 of the Competition Act, 2002.
The Proposed Combination involves collective acquisition of 100% shares of the Target by the Acquirers. Further, prior to the proposed combination, GSKAPL will acquire the trademarks pertaining to “Iodex” and “Ostocalcium” brands in India alongwith the legal, economic, commercial and marketing rights of such brands and other associated assets  from GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited.
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Overseas Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Holdings  Limited . It is a part of the overall GlaxoSmithkline  group and its principal activity is to act as an investment holding company for GSK CH HoldCo and its subsidiaries.
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare UK Trading Limited is a part of the overall GSK group and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GSK CH HoldCo. It is engaged in the distribution and sale of consumer healthcare products, manufacturing, marketing, providing management services to the consumer healthcare group and providing research and development services to other consumer healthcare companies within the GSK group.
GSKAPL is a consumer healthcare company that is engaged in the marketing and distribution of oral healthcare products under various brand names such as Sensodyne, Parodontax, Polident and over-the-counter medicines products under the brand names such as Crocin, ENO.
Detailed order of the CCI will follow.
Ministry of Development of North-East Region
Mega Buyer-Seller Meet in Guwahati in collaboration with Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
A vision to promote sustainable trade and create market linkages, a mega buyer-seller meet was organized at Guwahati under One District One Product initiative of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade , Ministry of Commerce and Industry with the support of Ministry of Development of North East Region  and its PSUs, North Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation  and North East Regional Agriculture Marketing Corporation Limited . The meet focussed on agricultural products from the eight states of the North Eastern Region and witnessed the presence of multiple national and International Brands.
Over 70 sellers, traders, farmers, aggregators from various districts of each of the NE States - Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim - showcased their products to the buyers at the meet in Guwahati. Products included Meghalaya’s world-famous Lakadong Turmeric with more than 7% curcumin content, the GI Tagged Large Cardamom from Sikkim and Queen Pineapple from Tripura, Orthodox Assam Tea, Manipur’s Black Chakhao Rice and more. These products have been showcased to over 30 large buyers representing big brands such as Reliance and ITC, as well as upcoming start-ups in India.
The keynote address for the event was made by Shri Lok Ranjan, Secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region in the presence of officials and subject matter experts from the Agricultural and Horticultural Departments of the various state governments. Shri. B. Ramanjaneyulu, Director DPIIT, Shri. Manoj Kumar Das, Managing Director, NERAMAC, and Brig R K Singh, Managing Director, NEHHDC were also present.
NERAMAC which has been set up to support farmers/ producers from the North Eastern Region has been working to bridge the gap between farmers and the larger market. Thus, its role in the current Buyer-Seller Meet in collaboration with the ODOP Initiative has been critical. Through the joint efforts, the best-in-class products from the region are being matched with big brands to improve the earning potential of farmers. Focused trade discussions were also facilitated between the buyers, sellers and the State Government representatives from all the 8 NER states. Additionally, Letters of Intent  worth Rs. 6 crores were signed during the event.
The above is a direct outcome of the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat . DPIIT, under its initiative of One District One Product, which is working to ensure creation and sustenance of such linkages with a strong focus on increasing farmers income. With over 700 products cutting across sectors like agriculture, textiles, handicrafts, and manufacturing, the ODOP Initiative seeks to select, brand, and promote one product from every district of the country. This is marked by a key role to coordinate, create collaborative networks, and enable handholding of buyers and sellers for the larger aim of trade promotion and facilitation.
EAC-PM
Several reform measures introduced by the government are meant to address, both the cyclical and structural aspects: Bibek Debroy
The Q1 figures for 2019-20  show a real GDP growth rate of 5.0%.
Reacting to this, the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister , Bibek Debroy, said that a lot of unnecessary negativism was being generated about the economy. It is true that there are global uncertainties and net exports cannot, right now, be a major growth driver for India. Despite this, in 2019-20, real GDP growth is expected to be between 6.5 and 7.0%. This range isn’t one projected only by government institutions and those who work for the government. Those external to the government have also projected similar ranges of growth. When many countries in the world are struggling to find positive growth, 6.5 to 7% is not to be lightly dismissed.
To make a dent on poverty and increase job growth, real rates of growth need to be more. Bibek Debroy stressed that several reform measures introduced by the government are meant to address precisely this question, both the cyclical and structural aspects. When economists list out structural constraints, they often mention factor markets, which are in the State List or the Concurrent List. Alternatively, they concern the legislature or the judiciary. Therefore, because these reforms are complicated areas, reforms will happen incrementally, not overnight.
Just last week and today, the Union government has announced several measures to achieve higher growth. Bibek Debroy highlighted reforms in the financial sector and taxation procedures. Indirect tax reform will occur through GST Council and the Task Force on Direct Taxes has already submitted its recommendations. The government has announced its intention to privatize central public sector enterprises, adhere to fiscal consolidation and review central schemes on public expenditure. The macro fundamentals of the economy are sound and these measures will begin to show results in a couple of quarters.
Therefore, Bibek Debroy stressed that those who seek to spread a message of gloom and doom are doing a great disservice. The EAC-PM does not endorse such views. While constructive criticism and suggestions are welcome, a message of despair and hand-wringing is best avoided. Bibek Debroy expects real growth in 2019-20 to be around 6.5%, increasing to 7% in 2020-21, because growth in the second half of the year is likely to be more than the first.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Update on COVID Vaccination Phase-3
A new Security Feature added to CoWIN digital platform
“4 digit security code” to Minimise Errors for ONLINE bookings/appointments operational from 8thMay 2021
It has been noticed in some instances that citizens that had booked their appointment for COVID vaccination through the CoWIN portal, but did not actually go for vaccination on the scheduled date, have received notification through SMS that a vaccine dose has been administered to them. Upon examination, it has been found to occur largely on account of the Vaccinator wrongly marking the citizen as vaccinated, i.e. an instance of a data entry error by the vaccinator.
In order to minimize such errors and the subsequent inconvenience caused to the citizens, the CoWIN system is introducing a new feature of “4 digit security code” in the CoWIN application from 8th May 2021. Now, after verification if the beneficiary has been found as eligible, before administering the vaccine dose, the verifier/vaccinator will ask beneficiary about his/her 4 digit code and then enter the same in the CoWIN system to correctly record the vaccination status.
This new feature will be applicable only for citizens who have done an online booking for a vaccination slot. The “4-digit security code” will be printed in the appointment acknowledgement slip and will not be known to the vaccinator. The four-digit code will also be sent in the confirmation SMS sent to beneficiary after successful booking of appointment. The Appointment Acknowledgement slip can also be saved and shown from the mobile.
This will ensure that, for such citizens who have booked an online appointment, the data entries regarding vaccination status of a citizen, are recorded correctly and only for those who book online appointment and avail the services at the center where they have booked the appointment. This will also reduce the opportunities of impersonation and wrongful use of flexibilities provided in CoWIN for facilitating vaccination coverage.
Advisory for citizens –
- It is advised that the citizens must carry a copy  of their appointment slip and/or the registered mobile phone with appointment confirmation SMS, so that the 4-digit security code can be furnished for easy completion of vaccination recording process.
- It is also advised that the security code may be furnished to verifier/vaccinator before the vaccine dose has been administered. This is important as the digital certificate would be generated after the vaccine dose administration.
- Citizen must provide the security code to the vaccinator as the digital certificate will be generated only after the vaccination record has been updated with the security code.
- Citizen should get a confirmation SMS after the process has been successfully completed. The confirmation SMS indicates that the vaccination process has been completed successfully and the digital certificate has been generated. If one does not get the confirmation SMS, one should get in touch with the vaccinator/ vaccination center in-charge.
Ministry of Defence
Curtain Raiser: India-Bangladesh Joint Military Exercise Sampriti - 2019
As part of the ongoing India Bangladesh defence cooperation, a joint military exercise Sampriti-2019 will be conducted at Tangail, Bangladesh from 02 March to 15 March 2019. Exercise Sampriti-2019 is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh and this will be the eighth edition of the exercise which is hosted alternately by both countries.
The exercise is aimed to strengthen and broaden the aspects of interoperability and cooperation between the Indian and Bangladesh Armies. The exercise will involve tactical level operations in a counter insurgency and counter terrorism environment under the UN mandate.
In addition to understanding each other in tactical level operations, emphasis will also be laid for greater cultural understanding to strengthen military trust and cooperation between the two nations.
Lt Col Mohit Vaishnava
for PRO 
(Visitor Counter : 2593
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Government takes various steps for speedy clearance of Exploration Projects
Contractors/Operators of Oil & Gas blocks have to obtain statutory clearances and approvals from various State and Central Government authorities to start Exploration & Production activities. These clearances and approvals include Petroleum Exploration License , Petroleum Mining Lease , environment related clearances like Environment Clearance, Forest Clearance, Wildlife clearance etc., Clearances from Ministry of Defence, Clearance from Department of Space, Consent to Establish  , Consent to Operate  and many other clearances. Delay in obtaining such clearances and approvals affects the overall timelines and progress of the Exploration & Production projects.
The Government has been making continuous efforts to ensure timely clearances and approvals. Various efforts made by the Government in this regard are:
i. The Empowered Coordination Committee  has been constituted under the Cabinet Secretary for streamlining and speeding up clearances and approvals.
ii. Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas  vide OM dated 28.02.2020 conveyed approval of Self Certification of Production Sharing Contracts  processes. Twenty two processes were identified where documents from the Contractors shall be accepted on Self-Certification basis and no approval is required.
iii. Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change  has launched PARIVESH, a web based, role based workflow application which has been developed for online submission and monitoring of the proposals submitted by the proponents for seeking Environment, Forest, Wildlife and CRZ Clearances from Central, State and district level authorities.
iv. Directorate General of Hydrocarbons  in consultation with Ministry of Defence/ Ministry of Home Affairs  has developed and implemented, e-submission of all applications for MOD related vessel clearance and MHA related expat clearance for Exploration & Production operations.
v. Regular meetings are being held in presence of officials from MOP&NG, DGH, State Government to discuss pending issues related to grant of licenses or clearances pertaining to respective States.
vi. URJA PRAGATI  web-based interactive portal has been launched recently by DGH to prioritize and flag the long pending issues concerning the upstream hydrocarbon sector involving various stakeholders such as Operators, Central Ministries and State Governments.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Rameswar Teli in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Increase in Number of Haj Pilgrims
Funds for Construction of Haj Houses
“Public Order” and “Police” are State subjects as per the provisions of the Constitution. The responsibility of maintaining law and order, registration and prosecution of crimes against all citizens including minorities, rests with the respective State Governments. Government of India monitors the internal security and law and order situation in the country, and issues appropriate alerts and advisories from time to time to maintain peace, public tranquility and communal harmony. Government also deploys Central Armed Police Forces  to aid and assist State Governments in this regard.
As for Haj pilgrims, the total number of Haj pilgrims from the country is discussed bilaterally between the Government of India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decides the Haj quota for each country including India every year.
As regards subsidy on air travel of Haj pilgrims going through the Haj Committee of India , the same has been discontinued with effect from Haj 2018 and that no Haj pilgrims was provided subsidy by the Government in the year 2019-20.
The Central government has no scheme to construct Haj Houses in the country. Hence no funds are provided by the Central Government for this purpose. The State Governments may however, construct Haj Houses in the respective States through their State Haj Committees. In addition, the Haj Committee of India , a statutory body, under the administrative control of this Ministry provides some financial assistance to State/ Union Territory Haj Committees  for this purpose. As per the information received from HCoI, the number of Haj Houses in the country constructed by the SHCs, State/ UT-wise is annexed.
Haj Houses in the Country, State Governments/ UT Administrations wise
|
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S.No.
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State/ Union Territory
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Place/ City
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|
-
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Assam
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Guwahati
|
|
-
|
|
Bihar
|
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Patna
|
|
-
|
|
Gujarat
|
|
Ahmedabad
|
|
-
|
|
Jammu & Kashmir
|
|
Srinagar
|
|
-
|
|
Jharkhand
|
|
Ranchi
|
|
-
|
|
Karnataka
|
|
Bengaluru
|
|
-
|
|
Kerala
|
|
Calicut
|
|
-
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
|
Bhopal
|
|
-
|
|
Maharashtra
|
|
Mumbai, Nagpur
|
|
-
|
|
Rajasthan
|
|
Jaipur
|
|
-
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
|
Chennai
|
|
-
|
|
Tripura
|
|
Agartala
|
|
-
|
|
Telangana
|
|
Hyderabad
|
|
-
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
|
Ghaziabad, Lucknow
|
|
-
|
|
West Bengal
|
|
Kolkata
This information was given by the Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in written replies to the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
National Cooperative Development Corporation  new scheme ‘Yuva Sahakar’, launched in November 2018 is giving wings to young entrepreneurs in cooperatives: - Radha Mohan Singh
NCDC to organize ‘India International Cooperative Trade Fair’ in October, 2019 in New Delhi to provide platform for sale, market, product display to cooperatives
Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh has said that National Cooperative Development Corporation  has played a crucial role in promoting cooperative development in the country by progressively shaping its financial schemes and programmes for benefitting farmers through cooperatives. Speaking on the occasion of 84th General Council meeting of NCDC today, he said that the Corporation during the current financial year 2018-19 has already achieved an all time high release of over ₹25,000 crore which is 210% of the current year target. It has registered a remarkable increase of around 222% in disbursements in last five years  as compared to previous five years . It is a matter of pride that net NPA of the Corporation is maintained at ‘Zero’ with recovery rate being over 98%.
Shri Singh added that the NCDC has been proactive in delivering innovative solutions for the cooperative sector. NCDC’s new scheme ‘Yuva Sahakar’ was launched in November 2018 for giving wings to young entrepreneurs in cooperatives. Newly formed cooperatives will be able to take advantage of the ‘Cooperative Start up and Innovation Fund’ created by NCDC with liberalized assistance for cooperatives in the North Eastern Region, Cooperatives registered and operating in Aspirational Districts, cooperatives with 100% women/SC/ST/Person with Disability  members.
He said that the New Agriculture Export Policy has been announced by the government. As part of the initiative, NCDC and Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority  have identified common areas of cooperation and entered into an MoU. This collaboration will facilitate in providing better value to the stakeholders in agri and allied sectors through a variety of activities including focus on export in line with the policies of the Government.
The Minister informed that the NCDC is organizing a first of its kind ‘India International Cooperative Trade Fair’ in October, 2019 in New Delhi. The Cooperative Trade Fair will provide platform for sale, market, product display, conferences, buyer-seller meet, networking, policy advocacy etc to national and international cooperatives and related institutions.